On April 21, 2017 Judge Schwab of the Western District of Pennsylvania surprised no one by finding that the ADA applies to web sites. Gniewkowski v. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-01898 (W.D. Pa. April 21, 2017). Judge Schwab has presided over dozens of ADA cases, and his orders in those cases make it plain that he has an expansive view of the purposes and reach of the ADA.

What is surprising about the decision is Judge Schwab’s reasoning, which does not follow many earlier cases holding that websites may be covered by the ADA because they are a service of a brick and mortar store, act as a “gateway” to the brick and mortar store or otherwise have some relationship to a physical place of public accommodation. Instead Judge Schwab observes that the defendants’ physical locations are undoubtedly places of public accommodation and then finds that “the alleged discrimination has taken place on property that AmeriServ owns, operates and controls – the AmeriServ website.” Missing is the connection between the website and the physical premises present in other cases. It appears that Judge Schwab would hold that if any business owns a place of public accommodation then any website it also owns is subject to the ADA, regardless of the relationship of that website to a physical premises.

The case was decided on a Motion to Dismiss, and although district court decisions pro and con continue to drift in, there no definitive case. There is, however, a clear imperative to make websites accessible to avoid the expense of litigation.

Thanks to Michele Landis of Accessible 360, for sending me information about this decision.

*Please note that our work with different web accessibility consultants does not represent an endorsement of any of them. Decisions on how to best approach accessibility should be made by any business after consulting with both counsel and a variety of consulting firms.

Richard M. Hunt

Hunt Huey PLLC defends businesses in ADA and FHA accessibility lawsuits as well as advising businesses on how to avoid such lawsuits. For more information about our firm visit the Hunt Huey PLLC web site, hunthuey.com